Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
DANTE
There’s no fucking way. My nerves are already frayed with worry. The Savage Knights works amazing as a team. We get things done. We chase justice with our own hands, we make our own rules.
Why the fuck is Ava here?
Ava and Archer saunter into the Grim. The dim lights play off Ava’s dark waves. I’m lost in her beauty for all of a minute before she meets my eyes.
When Archer asked for us to change bikes, I thought he was taking her home. I thought she was leaving and I would never see her again. I didn’t care. As long as she was safe, I didn’t care into how many pieces my heart broke.
Why is she here?
The bar’s already packed with the Knights, the air electric with anticipation. They slam back shots, crack their knuckles. Spoiling for a fight.
It’s tonight. The great showdown.
King, our president, holds up a hand and the room goes quiet.
“Listen up, you mutts,” he barks. He points at Archer. “Archer’s sister, Ava, is investigating that fucker with the anti-shifter laws. Thorne.” My brothers boo. Someone slams a fist on the bar counter. “Thorne sent people after her. They broke into her place, they drugged her in our club, and they tried to kidnap her. Dante here got two of them.” My brothers clap. “One escaped. We have his name. We have his last known location.” King takes a beat. “This bastard’s gonna tell us what he knows.”
My brothers scream and stomp and clap. I meet Ava’s gaze. She smiles, Archer’s arm draped over her shoulders.
“Let’s fucking go!” King calls out, taking the lead out of the bar.
I fall back, waiting for Ava. Archer waits next to her, his face unreadable.
“You sure you’re riding with us?” I ask her. “All the trouble aside, I still don’t want you to get hurt.”
Ava smiles. It’s like a knife to my chest. Goddess, she’s gorgeous. I’m so fucking lucky. Even if I never get to kiss her again, I still had the best time of my life when I held her in my arms.
“I’m sure,” she says, lifting her chin. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Can I ride with you?”
Fuck. Pride and worry war in my chest as she strides closer, determination in every step. I want to yank her into my arms, feel her softness against me. I want to tell her everything, how I’m head over heels for her, and how I want to mark her as mine.
I settle for handing her a helmet. “Stay close, Ava,” I rasp. “And for fuck’s sake, be careful.”
She flashes me a grin. The three of us walk out to the lot. Archer shows me his palm.
“Keys.”
I give them to him. Archer punches me on the shoulder. I grin at him.
We’re almost back to normal.
Ava takes her spot behind me, her arms around my waist. My brothers mock me like school children. I ignore them.
They’re jealous. I’m the only one with a mate and she’s the hottest, most gorgeous, bravest woman I’ve ever seen.
The Knights leave The Grim Reaper behind as the sun sets. We travel for a couple of hours, take a break, then two more.
Finally, we park a block from Kane’s place, engines cutting to low growls. The street’s dark, silent in the late evening. An alley cat yowls in the distance.
Ava tenses behind me, her breath hitching. I cover her hand with mine, squeezing. “Stay close to your brother.”
“Why can’t I stay with you?” she asks, sliding off the bike.
“Because I’m the enforcer.” I take off her helmet and put it away. “I’m in the front line.”
Ava’s lips twist, but she moves to her brother’s side. I’m glad we have this silent understanding—I trust her to do her job, and she trusts me to do mine.
We scatter as we leave the bikes behind and amble toward Preston Kane’s place. We’re deathly quiet, only the sound of our boots on the pavement breaking the silence.
A figure shuffles down the sidewalk. Distracted. Probably wearing earphones.
King sees him before anyone else. Our president takes the lead. He doesn’t move silently. King is not a wolf, hunting.
He’s a bear, about to pounce.
King shoots out a hand, snatching the figure by the back of his hoodie. In one powerful movement, he slams the man into the nearest wall.
It’s so fast Preston Kane can only grunt in surprise.
King shoves a piece of fabric into Kane’s mouth. Two of my brothers grab Kane’s feet while King and I grab his arms. We drag him, kicking and thrashing, into an abandoned lot. We shove him off at the same time. He crashes into the ground with a gut-churning crunch. More of my brothers join us in the shadows.
I step onto his chest, letting my full weight rob him of air. I pull out my hunting knife and press the blade to his face. Kane stops breathing, his gaze ping-ponging between me and the weapon.
“One chance, Kane,” I hiss at him. My blood already boils at the mere sight of his face. My wolf growls and roars inside me, begging for his blood. “We ask questions. You answer them right, we don’t kill you.”
Preston Kane’s eyes go wide for a moment, then his gaze focuses somewhere over my shoulder. I glance back and find Ava standing between King and Archer. Her eyes burn with recognition and though her hands shake, she keeps her chin up.
I close a hand into a fist and punch Kane. Just because he touched her. I yank the fabric off next.
Kane sneers, blood bubbling between his teeth. He glares back at me. “What the fuck do you want?”
“What’s your deal with Thorne?” Ava asks, her voice firm and full of anger. Fuck, she’s magnificent. “Is he paying you to terrorize innocent women? Threaten girls to keep them quiet?”
Kane laughs, an ugly sound. “Bitch, your naive ass is just catching up? This ain’t my first rodeo. Shut up plenty of snitches in my time. Ain’t nothing a few threats can’t fix. Make them go away real quiet.” And he grins.
Rage boils through me and I lunge forward, my boot slamming into his gut. He grunts, spitting blood.
“So that’s what you do?” I ask. “You’re paid to threaten and drug and kidnap women.”
“Only if they’re being naughty.”
Holy fuck, I want to kill this man.
I kick him once. Twice. King pushes me off him.
“Calm down,” King says, his voice full of command. “We need names,” he tells Kane. “Who is paying you?”
Kane opens his mouth to say something else, but the words never come.
There’s a crack like thunder and his head snaps back, eyes going wide. Then he crumples back, blood and gray matter leaking into the cracked asphalt, and all hell breaks loose.
“Get down!” King roars as another shot whizzes by, the sound reverberating through the night air. “Sniper, across the street!”
Chaos erupts, everyone diving for cover. Someone stumbles into Archer, who loses his balance, leaving Ava open. Another bullet ricochets off a dumpster, too close to her, and my heart seizes in my chest.
I lunge, tackling her to the ground, my body covering hers as shots rain down around us. My heart kicks in my chest, my arms folded around her, trying to keep every inch of her body safe.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. This is all my fault. I never should have brought her here, put her in danger like this. If anything happens to her...
Another shot, too close. The beast inside me roars to life, clawing at my skin, desperate to break free. I’m shifting before I can stop myself, fur rippling over skin, bones cracking and reforming. The world sharpens into vivid clarity, scents and sounds amplified a hundredfold.
I curl my larger body around Ava, shielding her completely this time. Let them see me. I don’t give a fuck anymore. Let the whole goddamn world know what I am. As long as she’s safe, nothing else matters.
Pain explodes in my shoulder, white-hot and searing. A high-pitched yelp escapes my muzzle as I feel the bullet lodge deep in the muscle.
“Dante!” Ava screams, her hands fisting in my fur. “No! No!”
The coppery scent of my own blood fills my nostrils and the edges of my vision blur. I force myself to stay conscious, to keep my bulk between her and the deadly rain of bullets.
I’ll die before I let them touch her. I’d sacrifice everything, give up all my tomorrows, just to ensure she lives. Because somewhere along the way, between arguments and mind-blowing kisses, she’s become my whole damn world.
And I’ll fight like hell to keep her in it.